According to Reuters, on August 6, local time, Kosovo's "Minister of the Interior" Xhelal Svecla issued a statement saying that The Kuwaiti side arrested a Russian journalist in the border area, and the Kosovo security department believes that she is suspected of engaging in "espionage" for Russia and is currently investigating her "intentions".
Reuters: Kosovo arrests a Russian journalist in a border area
The Russian journalist, Daria Aslamova, works for Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. Swicka said in a statement: "Today, Aslamova was arrested at the northern Kosovo border crossing. Some countries have proven that she spied for Russian military intelligence agencies and acted under the cover of a journalist. Svikra accused Asramova of "entering Kosovo at a time when events in northern Kosovo are escalating, which is clear evidence that Russia is involved in Serbian propaganda aimed at destabilizing Kosovo".
Svikra also posted a photo of the reporter with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and Syrian President Assad on his social platform.
But Reuters said it could not yet confirm Svekla's allegations against the journalist and it was unclear whether Asramova had hired a lawyer.
Photos of Aslamova circulating on social platforms
Recently, tensions have intensified in Serbia and Kosovo. The Kosovo authorities had planned to require any person entering the country with an identity document issued by the Government of Serbia to obtain a temporary document issued by the Kosovo authorities during their stay in the Kosovo area, starting from 1 August; Serb residents holding Serbian license plates were also required to re-register and exchange them for Kosovo license plates within two months.
The move immediately sparked strong resentment among the local Serb population, which at one point led to an escalation of tensions. On 31 July, protests by Serbs in northern Kosovo used heavy vehicles to erect roadblocks and block roads, while Kosovo authorities dispatched special police to block two border crossings with Serbia.
The escalation has also raised concerns in the United States and the European Union. Reuters said that later on July 31, after "consultations" with U.S. and European Union diplomats, Kosovo authorities announced that they would delay the ban by one month and implement it from September 1.
Russian Presidential Press Secretary Paiskov told reporters on August 1 that "of course we absolutely support Serbia." We are on the side of the Kosovo Serbs. We believe that these [demands from the Kosovo side] are absolutely unreasonable. ”
Serbian President Vucic said on the 2nd that he would go to Brussels in mid-August to meet with the leaders of the Kosovo region, but he did not have any expectations for the results of the talks. Vucic stressed that Serbia has always advocated peace, but he will not remain silent if someone crosses the border to threaten the security of Serbs.
Kosovo is an autonomous province of the former Republic of Serbia of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, entrusted to the United Nations after the end of the Kosovo War in June 1999. In February 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared its "independence". Although Kosovo is recognized by the United States and some of its allies, about 90 countries, including Serbia, China and Russia, do not recognize Kosovo's "independence."
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